The da Vinci Surgical System was revolutionary when it was debuted by Intuitive Digital in 1999. The system consists of several components, including a console that is situated near the operating table. This console allows the surgeon to control the three to four robot arms that replace the traditional surgeon’s tools.
The robotic arms are quite large, and wouldn’t look out of place at an industrial plant. Despite its size, the da Vinci is used to perform minimally invasive, or laparoscopic surgeries, referred to as “keyhole” surgeries due to the small incision they require. The benefits of laparoscopic surgery can be dramatic, leading to far shorter recovery times, less post-operative pain, and reduced bleeding. Many physicians agree that the da Vinci system can be very helpful for performing minimally invasive hysterectomies, gallbladder surgeries, prostectomies and more.
Although this system could lead to, as some have said, a new “standard of care,” some doctors aren’t happy with the da Vinci. It’s not necessarily due to inherent flaws with the system, but rather a lack of competition in the space that has stifled innovation:
“People have been disappointed in how slowly the robot is evolving,” says Jon Einarsson, a gynecological surgeon at Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston. “There hasn’t been a lot of evolution or improvement in the articulation at the tip of the instrument.” Some innovations that Einersson would like to see are haptics–a sense of touch that can be translated from the robotic instruments to the surgeon–and a way to incorporate data from magnetic resonance imaging.
Some surgeons and engineers argue that a much smaller and cheaper device could provide the same visual advantages and flexibility, but that no one has been able to move this forward. “The da Vinci robot looks like it was designed to make automobiles–it’s great big clunky gear,” says Kirby Vosburgh, an engineer with the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT), in Boston, who previously designed medical technology for General Electric.
At least one inventor who has tried to create an alternative design for a robotic surgery system has seen his efforts hit a wall due to existing patent claims by Intuitive.
Despite this setback, the very fact that the market is dominated by one company is as much an opportunity as it is an obstacle. Anyone who could come up with an original design for a system that was smaller, cheaper or easier to use would be able to make a huge splash in the world of robotic surgery, and immediately kick-off a race for innovation, which would benefit the industry, hospitals, and most of all, patients.
(EDIT 3/25/10: Minor grammar edits)